Playground Games warns of hardware bans after Forza Horizon 6 leak

On May 11, Playground Games posted that a pre-release PC build of Forza Horizon 6 appeared online about a week before the game’s scheduled launch. The studio listed potential penalties that include device-level blocks and long account bans, and the official UK Forza Horizon 6 account later referenced an 8,000-year ban for players using the pirated build. The leak is limited to the PC build; Xbox versions have not appeared online.

The full PC file is about 155GB and was shared on torrent sites after it surfaced. Some people who accessed the build published benchmark results, including tests run on an AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT. Microsoft has begun issuing takedown notices to sites hosting the leaked files.

Playground Games rejected early reports that the leak was caused by a preload encryption failure. The studio added the source of the leak remains under investigation and has not confirmed reports that a reviewer or content creator with early access was responsible. The company confirmed the leak does not change the published release schedule.

The studio’s enforcement language covers penalties beyond standard account suspensions. It describes franchise-wide bans that remove access to Forza titles and hardware bans that block a specific device from connecting to Forza services. A hardware ban prevents a device from regaining access by creating a new account.

Forza Horizon 6 is scheduled to launch May 19, 2026, for Xbox Series X and S, Xbox Game Pass, Steam and Xbox PC. Players who buy the Premium Edition receive early access starting May 15. A PlayStation 5 version is planned later in 2026.